Slug casting machine



Nov. 5, 1935. I J. vI-IILPMAN 2,019,856

SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1934 2 Sheets-$heet l Patented Nov. 5, 1935 umrso STATES PATENT OFFIQE SLUG CASTING MACHINE John H. Hilpman, Hollis, N. Y., assignor to Mergenthaler Linotype Company, a corporation of New York Application July 14, 1934, Serial No. 735,156

ll-Cla-ims. (Cl. 19932) returned throughv distributing mechanism to the magazine from which they started. In these machines, the composed line is transferred from the assembling channel or elevator into the casting channel or elevator by means of a horizontally movable carriage comprising a slide or body portion and a pair of line engaging fingers, one short and the other long. The short right-hand finger is fixed to the carriage slide, while the long leftt-handvfinger is loosely mounted with reference thereto, the latterfingerbeing ordinarilyprovided with, a friction device which tends to hold itstationary. As the transfer carriageis thusconstructed, the composed line is advanced to the left by the right-hand finger and in its advance picks up the left-hand finger and carries it along therewith, it being understood that the frictional resistance offered to the movement of the lefthand finger is overcome by the power applied (usually by a bflwy spring) to operate the carriage. Inthe return movement of the carriage, the left-hand finger is restored to the right by the customary adjustable stop on the carriage slide which locates it at the proper distance from the right-hand finger. The loose mounting of the left-hand finger is intended primarily to enable the transfer carriage to accommodate itself to short lines, that is to say, lines shorter than that for which the two fingers are adjusted.

Thus, when a short line is delivered to the transfer carriage, the leading matrix of thelinenecessarily stands some distance away from the left hand finger, but this distance is immediately taken up during the initial movement of the transfer carriage, due to the fact that the left-hand finger is held at rest until picked up by the advancing line. In this way, the twofingers are caused to approach each other and confine the line between them, reliance being placed upon the above mentioned friction device to maintain the fingers in this condition until the line is taken from the carriage by the casting elevator.

It has been found in practice that, notwithstanding the friction device carried thereby, the

left-hand finger frequently becomes separated from the line before the latter leaves the transfer carriage, such separation being due for the 7 most part to the jar developed by the abrupt stoppage of the carriage which sometimes 00- curs during its line transfer movement. For example, there are times when a second line is transferred from the assembling elevator before the machine has completed its cycle of operation,

and the transfer carriage under such conditions 10.

is abruptly stopped in a Waiting position in the intermediate channel. As a result, the matrices become loose in the line (particularly those at the leading end) and oftentimes drop out or else become so displaced as to interfere with the 15.

proper delivery of the line to the casting and other devices, thereby causing damage to the parts and giving rise to other serious objections. Moreover, it may happen that the left-hand finger will be thrown into the path of the casting 20 elevator as it descends from its upper transfer level to line receiving level, causing even greater damage to the parts.

The present invention is intended to overcome the foregoing objections and aims specifically to provide an effective guard against an abrupt stopping of the line transfer carriage in its Waiting position. To this end, the dash-pot which is ordinarily provided for resisting the action of the spring which moves the line transfer carriage in its delivery stroke has been modified in such manner as to offer momentarily a greater resistance to the actuating spring just before the carriage reaches its waiting position.

In the accompanying drawings, the invention has been shown merely in preferred form and by way of example and as applied to the particular kind of machine mentioned, but obviously many changes and alterations may be made therein and in its mode of application and still be com- 40 prised within its spirit. Generally speaking, the invention is not limited to any specific form or adaptation except insofar as such limitations are specified in the claims.

' Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a linotype machine equipped with the present improvement;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, on an enlarged scale, of the line transfer carriage and associated parts;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and 55 Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the assembling elevator. p

In the drawings, only those parts of themachine necessary to an understanding of the invention have been illustrated, and itwill be understood that the other parts may be of the ordinary or any suitable construction.

The matrices S are released from the magazine in which they are stored by the usual keyboard and drop onto the conveyor belt A which delivers them to the assembling elevator A wherein they are composed in line with the expansible spacebands T. After-composition, the elevator A is raised into registration with the intermediate channel Band the composed line then carried therethrough into the casting elevator C, which thereupon descends to present the line to the slug casting mold. The shifting of the composed line from the assembling elevator A to the casting elevator C is effected by a so-called line transfer carriage comprising the horizontal slide D and the two line engaging fingers D and D The slide D is mounted in the guideway E of the machine frame E and is moved to and fro by the power-operated lever F The right-hand finger D is rigidly secured to the slide D, whereas the left-hand finger D is loosely mounted with reference thereto, being attached to a separate block (not shown) slidably arranged in the guideway E The setting of the finger D from the finger D is determined by an adjustable stop D carried by the slide and which is adapted to abut against the block on which the finger is mounted in the line receiving position of the transfer carriage (see Fig. 1). The stop D is held in its adjusted position by the pawl D which cooperates with ratchet teeth formed on the front face of the slide D. The finger D or more specifically the block to which it is fixed, is provided with a friction device in the form of the spring-pressed plunger D bearing against a smooth faced portion of the machine frame just above the guideway E As before outlined, the assembling elevator A is raised to introduce the composed line between the fingers D D of the transfer carriage. As it reaches its uppermost position, the elevator A trips a catch to release the carriage and thus permit it to convey the line through the intermeditransfer carriage.

ate channel B to the casting elevator C. The slide D is connected by the link F to the actuating lever F which is mounted upon the rock shaft F also carrying the arm F connected to the spring F which supplies the power to move the The rock shaft F in addition, carries the arm F bearing the roller 15 for engaging the cam G mounted on the main cam shaft of the machine, the cam operating through the arm F to rock the shaft F against the action of the spring F to return the carriage to its normal position.

When the carriage is released and the spring F permitted to act, the roller F strikes the starting dog G carried by the cam G and trips it from engagement with the stop G to initiate the automatic operation of the machine. However, on occasions when the transfer carriage moves toward delivery position with a composed line before the machine has completed a cycle of operation, the starting dog will not be in a position to be tripped by the roller F and the latter will.

be arrested by the edge of the cam G say at a point G and thus the transfer carriage will be stopped in a waiting position until the machines cycle of operation has been completed and the trip dog G brought into engagement with the roller F Of course, it is understood that in this instance the point G arbitrarily selected is any point on the cam G which at the time the line is transferred occupies the starting position of the trip dog G shown in Fig. 1 and that, as the cam G continues to rotate, the roller F follows the contour of its edge until the trip dog is brought into position to be acted upon by the roller, the transfer carriage during this interval gradually moving toward its final position of delivery by virtue of the shape of the cam and the dog Gr instead of being tripped is prevented by the roller F from engaging the stop G so that the machine continues without interruption into its second cycle of operation.

The movement of the transfer carriage in its delivery stroke is under the control of the dashpot M, whose plunger M is connected by the plunger rod M to the arm 15 of the rock shaft F The plunger M is provided in its upper wall M with the one-way valve M to admit air into the upper portion of the cylinder M as the plunger moves downwardly during the return stroke of the transfer carriage, and the plunger carries the washer M of leather or other suitable material to effect a compression seal as in the case of an ordinary air pump.

The foregoing parts and their mode of operation are substantially the same as those embodied in commercial linotype machines. However, it may be noted that when the-transfer carriage is moved to the left for the transfer of the composed line, the left-hand finger D? is held at. rest by its spring-pressed plunger D until the forward end of the line is carried against it by the advance of the right-hand finger D (compare Figs. 1 and 2), the matrices and spacebands up to this time being held against displacement in the assembling elevator by the resilient rails A which engage the upper ears of the matrices (see Fig. 5). The power applied by the spring F to advance the carriage is suflicient, of course, to overcome the slight frictional resistance of the plunger D and, consequently, the finger D is carried along by the composed line until the carriage reaches its final position of delivery, where it is arrested by the engagement of the slide D with a fixed stop E on the machine frame. If, as shown, the line forwarded is shorter than the original distance between the two fingers, the left-hand finger D will stand to the right out of engagement with its setting stop D at the time of arrest of the transfer carriage in either of the aforesaid positions and. hence, the finger has a tendency to jump or rebound away from the line when the carriage is arrested. However, even with the dash-pot M to steady the movement of the carriage, the jar developed by the abrupt stoppage of the carriage in its waiting position is severe enough to effect this jumping of the finger and give rise to the objections previously noted, because the compression of air in the dash-pot is less during the initial rise of the plunger M than as it approaches the end of its stroke.

According to the present invention, the action of the dash-pot has been modified, so that just prior to the time when the roller F would engage the edge of the cam G and arrest the carriage in its waiting position if the line were transferred prematurely, it (the dash-pot) automatically operates momentarily to offer more reslacken its speed.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated, there is fixed inthe upper wall M of the dash-pot plunger M a piston valve M having flattened portions M3 and an unflattened portion or lobe M The piston M" passes through a bore or bushing .M' in the cylinder head M, the bore being of slightly larger diameter than the piston so that the latter may .slide freely therethrough. The .cylinder head M is also formed with .a port M through which air is taken into and exhausted :from the cylinder; and .an adjustable cover or cap M is provided to more or less obstruct the port, as .desired, and vary the-.flow of air therethrough.

In the operation of the machine, when the transfer carriage is. in its line receiving position (see Fig. '1), the plunger M of the dash-pot M occupiesits lowermost position with its top surface at the level min Fig. .3, and the lobe 'M of the piston valve M occupies a position within the cylinder as indicated by the lower dotted line in Fig. 3. Now, when the transfer .carriage is released by the upwardmovement of the assemling elevator A in delivering the composed line between the fingers D and D and the spring F exercises itself to move the carriage to the left, the plunger M is forced upwardly, compressing the air in the cylinder and thus resisting the action of the spring F so that the carriage moves only as fast as the air is exhausted from the cylinder and permits the plunger to move upwardly, but, as already stated, the compression at this time is not very great. During the initial movement of the plunger, the air is exhausted from the cylinder through the port M and also through the clearance space presented between the upper flattened portion M of the piston valve M and the bore M At about the time the parts have moved sufficiently so that the roller F approaches the position P indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1 (just before it would engage with the cam G and be arrested in its waiting position), the lobe M of the piston valve M reaches the lower end of the bore M From then on until the lobe M passes through the bore. M and reaches the position shown by the full lines in Fig. 3, when the plunger M is at approximately the level (II, the escape of air from within the cylinder in the region of the bore M is substantially cut off, leaving the port M as the only exhaust passage. Hence, with the volume of air exhaust thus diminished, the speed of rise of the plunger M is decreased and a greater resistance to the action of the spring F is offered, whereby the speed of the line transfer carriage is momentarily slackened to such extent that there can be no abrupt jarring stop if the roller F should come into engagement with the cam G Consequently, there is no separating of the left-hand finger D from the composed line, for the spring plunger D is capable of resisting whatever slight separating tendency there may be. To continue with the operation: After the lobe M of the piston valve M has cleared the bore M, the lower flattened portion M of the valve is presented and the transfer carriage is free as initially to move to delivery position, the plunger M rising to its uppermost position 2 indicated in Fig. 3.

It will be noted that the volume of air escaping through the port M in the cylinder head M may be regulated by the closure cap M and this control is for the purpose of regulating the volume of air exhausted from the cylinder in conjunction with the air exhausted through 3 the. bore M 9 past the flattened portions M of the piston valve M to obtain the desired resistance by the dash-pot M during the initial and final .movements of the transfer carriage. It

should also be noted that the period of greater 5 resistance for reducing the speed of the transfer carriage may be varied by increasing the length of the; lobe M of the piston valve Mlorthe length of the bore M or both.

Briefly stated, the dash-pot, modified in the manner :shown and, described, imposes a braking action upon the line delivery carriage just prior to the time when it reaches its waiting :position, thereby avoiding the objections whichheretofore have existed because of the abrupt stoppage 15 which necessarily takes place in the absence of such braking action. It will be understood, of course, that when there is no waiting line :and, therefore, no waiting position of the transfer carriage, thecarriage will be permitted to travel uninterruptedly fromline receiving to line delivery position, the resistance offered by the dash-pot being only momentary and never sufficient to cause of itself the arrest of the carriage.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

Lina. typographical machine, the combination of a movable line transfer carriage adapted at times to be arrested in a waiting position, means for operating the carriage, and means for reducing the speed of the carriage at a point in advance of its waiting position.

2. In a typographical machine, the combination of a movable line transfer carriage, means for moving the carriage from line receiving position to line delivery position, and means effective momentarily to slacken the speed of the carriage before it reaches an intermediate waiting position.

3. In a typographical machine, the combina- 0 tion of a movable line transfer carriage, means for moving the carriage from line receiving position to line delivery position, and braking means operative momentarily to slacken the speed of the carriage before it reaches an intermediate waiting position.

4. In a typographical machine, the combination of a movable line transfer carriage, means for moving the carriage, means for arresting the carriage in a waiting position, and braking means operative to slow up the carriage before it is arrested.

5. In a typographical machine, the combination of a movable line transfer carriage adapted at times to be arrested in a waiting position, spring means for operating the carriage, and a dash-pot to resist the action of the spring, said dash-pot being automatically operative momentarily to offer its maximum resistance to the carriage at a point in advance of its waiting position.

6. In a typographical machine, the combination of a movable line transfer carriage, spring means for moving the carriage, and a dual action dash-pot, said dash-pot resisting the action of the spring throughout the travel of the carriage and momentarily offering an increased resistance at an intermediate point of travel to slow up the carriage at that point.

'7. In a typographical machine, the combination of a movable line transfer carriage, spring means for moving the carriage, and a dual action dash-pot to resist the action of the spring, said dash-pot acting during the initial and final stages of movement of the carriage to offer a 15 predetermined resistance to said spring means, and at an intermediate stage operating automatically to ofier an increased resistance to slacken the speed of the carriage momentarily.

8. In a typographical machine, the combination of a movable line transfer carriage adapted at times to be arrested in a waiting position, a dash-pot operative to resist the movement of the line transfer carriage, said dash-pot being equipped with an automatic valve operative to increase the resistance offered by the dash-pot at diiferent stages during its operation. 9. In a typographical machine, the combination of a movable line transfer carriage adapted at times to be arrested in a waiting position, a

fluid controlled dash-pot for resisting the movement of the line transfer carriage, said dashpot including a plunger operating within a cylinder and being equipped with a valve controlled by the movement of the plunger and operating during each stroke of the plunger to cause the dash-pot to offer an increased resistance momentarily during its operation.

10. In a typographical machine, the combination of a movable line transfer carriage adapted at times to be arrested in a waiting position, a dash-pot operative to resist the movement of the line transfer carriage, said dash-pot including a plunger operating within a cylinder and being equipped with a piston valve movable by the plunger and passing through a bore in the cylinder wall, the valve being formed to present clearance points between it and the wall of the bore at intervals during its movement and being operative to cause the dash-pot to ofier increased resistance momentarily during its operation.

11. In a typographical machine, the combination of a movable line transfer carriage adapted at times to be arrested in a waiting position, a dash-pot operative to resist the movement of the line transfer carriage, said dash-pot including a plunger operating within a cylinder and being equipped with a piston valve movable by the plunger and passing through a bore in the cylinder head, the piston being flattened on one side except for a short distance substantially midway of its length, a clearance being presented between the flattened portions of the piston and the bore and the unflattened portion of the piston substantially filling the bore as the piston moves therethrough, whereby the dash-pot offers increased resistance to the carriage when the unflattened portion of the piston passes through the bore.

JOHN H. HILPMAN 

